Crowders Mountain State Park »&nbsp Current Conditions

The park's attendance swelled to over 577,000 visitors in 2014 and is showing the same trend so far in 2015. The vast majority of visitors come on weekends and holidays, resulting in no parking spaces being available, long waits to get a parking space, and, in some cases, staff being required to close the gates temporarily for safety reasons.

If at all possible please avoid coming to the park between 10AM-4PM on pretty weekends and holidays, be patient if you have to wait to get a parking space, and, if you find the gate closed, try to come back during a less busy time.

Remember that parking in undesignated areas is illegal and could result in citation/fines/towing of your vehicle. Staff are doing everything they can to provide parking as safely and efficiently as possible.

The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation will conduct a prescribed burn in the Sparrow Springs/Kings Pinnacle area of Crowders Mountain State Park in Gaston County between Feb. 16 and March 31.

According to Park Superintendent Larry Hyde, the specific date of the burn will depend on local weather conditions.

The prescribed burn will be conducted on up to 300 acres from the visitor center area west to Pinnacle Road. The park’s campground, trails and other visitor facilities in that area will be closed during the prescribed burn. The Linwood Access area of the park will not be affected.

Prescribed burns are used as a resource management tool in many locations by the state parks system. Some plant communities and animal species rely on periodic fire for their existence. The prescribed burns also reduce the amount of potential wildfire fuel and help protect a park’s resources and neighboring landowners if lightning, arson or carelessness sparks a wildfire.

In order to minimize smoke and assure the fire is controlled, the low-intensity, prescribed burn will only be carried out under strictly defined weather conditions of a fire management plan. Generally, a prescribed burn will begin in late morning and end by mid-afternoon but the intended size of the Crowders Mountain State Park burn may require more than a single day.

For further information, call the park office at (704) 853-5375.

Updated: 2015-03-20 12:02:25

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